How does your phone contribute to mass violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

Conflict minerals:

Gold, tin, tungsten, and tantalum sourced from Congo’s mines can be found in the consumer electronics products we use every day, such as computers, cell phones, and MP3 players. Armed groups operating in eastern Congo earn hundreds of millions of dollars each year from this minerals trade and control most of the mining operations in mafia-like cartels, utilizing systematic rape and torture to destroy the social fabric of communities. Nearly six million lives have been lost from the consequences of the ongoing violence and hundreds of thousands of women raped (International Rescue Committee, 2007).  

While comprehensive action is needed for Congo, it is only by removing the economic incentive to wage war that we can end the conflict, making it critically important to focus our influence on ending the trade in conflict minerals. The direct link between war in Congo and the consumer products we use every day gives our University enormous power to demand change from electronics companies.

What can the University of Wisconsin-Madison do?

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has a unique opportunity to play a critical role in helping end the violence in eastern Congo – which is home to the deadliest war since World War II. By passing a resolution regarding the use of Congo’s conflict minerals in consumer electronics, UW-Madison would join Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, the University of California, Berkeley, and several others to become a leading university in support of conflict-free, sending a powerful message to electronics companies to clean up their supply chains to ensure their products are not fueling the deadliest conflict since World War II.  We have an opportunity to lead the way in the Big Ten, but we need to act now.

By issuing a resolution supporting the conflict-free movement, UW-Madison would amplify and strengthen efforts underway at the federal, state, city, and university levels calling for companies to trace, audit, and certify their supply chains to ensure their products do not support a minerals trade that is benefiting militia groups.

A symbolic statement of support is the first step on the road towards making UW-Madison conflict-free.  In the near future, our university should also move to factor in conflict minerals in both their investment and purchasing policies.

 1,100 women are raped every day in Congo (American Journal of Public Health, 2011).  The sexual violence will not stop until we act to end the conflict minerals trade.  Our goal is 1,100 signatures to honor the 1,100 victims of sexual violence each day.

The conflict minerals problem is complicated, and the suffering in Congo is immense. But there is good news: because we as electronics consumers are tied so directly to the problem, we can actually play a role in ending the violence. We must raise our collective voice as consumers and demand conflict-free electronics. By pressuring electronics companies to remove conflict minerals from their supply chains, we can help remove fuel from the fire in Congo.